The present invention is directed to a game of skill playable by several remote participants in conjunction with a live event. More specifically, the event might be a football game viewed by the participants on their television receivers.
A remote gaming system involving gambling is disclosed in Hedges U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,798. Here the viewer may watch an actual game of Keno or Craps or Roulette in their hotel room on a T.V. monitor and by wired communications to the central casino place bets and accomplish other necessary transactions. One of the features of this system is that the croupier conducting the actual live game determines the time at which "no more bets" may be made which effectively locks out the player from entering his prediction as to the variable involved in the particular game. Thus, in summary, the main feature as discussed in this patent is allowing the player to participate in "wagering games from the convenience and privacy of his room at a casino or, for that matter, from a hotel or motel room remotely located from the casino".
Another U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,548 to Everton as inventor is for home use by a group of spectators watching, for example, a football game on a television receiver.
Each player has a selector panel which includes a number of football play selection switches and these are directly wired to a master control unit. After the other players have made their selection of, for example, the kind of play and its outcome with their switches, a person at the control panel locks out any further predictions and then enters the actual results of the particular play in the control panel after it occurs. Then scoring occurs by comparing the participants' predictions with the actual occurrence. And these scores appear on the participants' score indicators. The Everton game is limited by the fact that only the participants viewing a single T.V. receiver in a single room of a residence may participate. Thus, it is not a remote gaming system as is true of the Hedges patent. On the other hand, the Hedges patent while offering remote gaming requires extensive wired communication between the remote location and the croupier station.
Thus, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved game of skill playable by several remote participants in conjunction with a live event.